


Wake Me Up When It's All Over

by YourPersonalSymphony



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Jay is a Good Dad, M/M, Parent Jason Todd
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-09
Updated: 2018-04-17
Packaged: 2019-04-20 12:46:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14261277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YourPersonalSymphony/pseuds/YourPersonalSymphony
Summary: When you find something you want, you hold onto it tight and never let go.Jason finds a little girl on the streets near his old home and can't bring himself to leave her alone.





	1. Felling My Way Through The Darkness

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ever serious fic. I really want this to actually come out well, but I can't set a schedule since bursts of info come sporadically. I don't have a beta, so all mistakes are mine.

_Run. Do not stop running._

"Hey, come back here ya little shit!"

_Don't let them catch you. You need this more than they do._

"Little bastard took my food, I gotta go back and get something else."

_They have the money, you don't. You need to eat. You need to live. You promised her._

Scarlett ran through the alleys in her neighborhood, ducking past boxes and crates. Clutching the McDonald's bag tight in her small fists, she made her way back to her tiny burrough. She sat down against the brick wall and pulled the food out of the bag.

"A salad?", she asked, puzzled. That guy got a salad from Mickey D's?Whatever, she needed the roughage anyway. She grabbed the plastic fork and dug in. It was pretty good, as far as fast "healthy" food was concerned. Scarlett hardly ever got a good meal on the streets, let alone any _vegetables_ , so beggars can't be choosers. Or in this case, thieves.

"Hey kid, your mama ever teach you that stealing ain't nice?", a strange voice rang out from the end of the alley. Scarlett jumped up and turned to run, but whoever it was beat her to the punch and had her by the arm in a second. She pulled back her arm and swung, hoping to catch this handsy bastard in the jaw. As she was about to connect, he caught her fist in his hand.

Who the fuck was this guy?

"Hey, it's okay kid, I'm not here to hurt ya.", he said, putting her down. She snatched her arm away as soon as she could and grimaced.

"Yeah, sure.", she snarled, rubbing her definitely bruised wrist."You assholes are all a bucket of fun ain'tcha?". She looked up at him, to get a good look at his face in case she had to avoid this creep in the future.

Or, where his face would have been.

If there wasn't a bright red helmet in the way.

"Holy shit, you're Red Hood."

"You just now realizing that kid?"

"You're one of the heroes running around Gotham?"

"I use the word hero very sparingly"

She realized that her mouth was still open, and slid it shut. Scarlett had grown up around this area, she had heard the stories about the Gotham Bat and his nest of birds. But she never thought she'd see one.

"If you're really not gonna hurt me, then why were you grabbing on me like that?", she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Didn't your mama ever tell you it ain't polite to yank on a lady?". If she could see under his helmet, she was sure that he'd look irritated.

"I was grabbing you because I saw you swipe that guys food and wanted to ask you a question.", he snarked, sitting on a crate next to her.

"Yes?"

"Do you want some actual food, kid? McDonald's salads are trash."

 

* * *

 

Sitting in the local diner, Jason got a good look at the kid. She was scrawny, but that wasn't surprising considering where they were. She couldn't be any older than thirteen. Scars on her arms, probably from sleeping on concrete. A scar on her face.

"What's your name?", he asks, hoping to get a read on her. She looks up from her meatloaf platter and glares at him.

"Nunya. Why should I tell you my name when you're hiding your face?", she spits, mouth full of mashed potatoes. Jason should have known better than to even ask. He was in her spot once, and he knows that he would probably never have even talked to some random bastard paying attention to him outta nowhere. But for some reason, he was actually invested in the kid.

"Be nice kid, I did just buy ya food."

"And that means? What reason do I have to trust you?"

"I coulda just dropped your little ass off at St. Adens and been done with it."

"You wouldn't."

"Test me."

She groaned, and sat up a little straighter. Jason smirked. Getting his way always ruled, was always a breath of fresh air. He sat forward a little.

"Lose the helmet first.",she stated matter-of-factly. He blinked.

"Huh, kid? Did I hear you right?" He must have misheard her. She did know that there was a reason he wore the helmet right? "I kinda have a reason to be incognito, ya know?"

"I said what I said." She was serious. Ugh. Why was he still invested? But, damn his caring nature.

"Fine." he said, pressing the release on his hood.

And revealing the domino mask underneath.

"Oh fuck you.",she grumbled, clearly exasperated. She pushed her plate away and pulled her legs up to her chest in the booth."So do you just want my name, or my life story?"

"No need to be snarky, I'm just making conversation."

She looked up at him and took a deep breath, appearing to steel herself for the conversation.

"My name is Scarlett. I'm 12.", she looked out the window. “How much do ya wanna hear mister?”


	2. Chapter 2

“Well Scarlett, I’m all ears to whatever ya wanna tell me.”, Red Hood said. Scarlett pulls at the necklace around her neck, fidgeting with the gem. She didn’t know why but she felt like she could talk to this guy and not get messed over in the end.

“I used to live in a bad neighborhood. Like, worst than where we are right now.”, she said, grimacing. The apartment that she had grown up in was filthy and run down, but it was home. Crime Alley was a pretty unforgiving place for everyone, but if you had the right connections and people you could get by. “My mom was the best artist in the city, regardless of whether she was actually employed as one.”

Mom was an amazing painter. She would paint whenever she didn’t have work, which wasn’t very often. Having to keep up with the rent and the electricity bill almost always kept her tired. However, she always made time for the two most important things in her life, Scarlett and her art.

“She loved me a lot, but you know how it goes. Life is a bitch to people who don’t deserve it.” 

“Meaning?”

“Meaning she’s dead.”

Red Hood sat up in surprise. Scarlett raised an eyebrow.

“Didn’t expect me to be that blunt about it?”, she asked. “I know how stuff works, Life sucks and then you die.”

“Kid, Scarlett, you shouldn’t have to think like that.”

“Well, I do. My mom’s gone and I’m fucking homeless.”

“Is your dad not in your life?”

Scarlett rolled her eyes. 

“Fuck no, that rat bastard and his parents can rot in the deepest darkest pits of hell.”

Scarlett didn’t even consider that man a human being, let alone her father. He had kicked her mother to the curb as soon as she told him she was pregnant. She had only met him once.

“His parents apparently had a problem with my mom’s...everything. The fact that she was poor, the fact that she wasn’t from a “good” family, and  _ especially  _ the fact that she was black.”

Mom had taken her to his place, she had wanted Scarlett to know her father and the other half of her family. His parents were visiting at the time though. Her mom had said that it was a good thing, that she could finally have grandparents as  _ her _ parents were long dead. It went horribly.

“His parents went ballistic. Screaming every bigoted insult they could think of, and cursing their son out about  _ sullying the family lineage _ by bringing a half-breed child into the world. They actually said that shit, can you believe it? Who even says shit like that anymore? And about a 6 year old child?”, Scarlett was getting progressively louder as she talked, tearing up in the process. She hated that family with her whole heart.

“I knew I wasn’t wanted when mom died. CPS was gonna seen me clear across the country to live with some uncle I’d never met. I wasn’t about to become some damn house slave or whatever they were planning to do with me, so I bounced.”

Red Hood’s face was stoic for a while. He looked like he couldn’t think of what to say. Scarlett wasn’t surprised, no one was quick with a response once they heard about what she’s gone through. 

“God, Kid, what the fuck? You’re still a child, you shouldn’t be going through this shit.”

“Unfortunately, life doesn’t give a fuck about your age when it decides to fuck ya.”

He looked almost distraught. Scarlett would have felt bad for putting all of this on him, if he wasn’t a vigilante. He probably dealt with this type of shit all the time. She wasn’t fully affected by the past anymore, if anything, it just made her angry. 

“Well, it’s been nice talking to ya.”, she said, getting up from the booth.”I’ve taken enough of your time Mr. Hood. Imma split, so see ya around.”

She started to walk out of the diner, but felt him grab her wrist. She looked back at him with raised eyebrows.

“You just  _ love _ doing that don’t ya?”

He dropped her arm and looked at her.

“Scarlett.”

“That’s my name.”

“How about you come and stay with me for a while?”

**Author's Note:**

> Come yell about Jason with me on Tumblr  
> http://yourpersonalsymphony.tumblr.com


End file.
